1. (1) The secretary of state shall consider and tabulate only the signatures on petitions that are certified by the proper county official. The secretary of state may reject any petition that does not meet statutory requirements. The secretary of state shall return a rejected petition to the proper county official. The county official shall correct the error, when applicable, or send or deliver the rejected petition to the signature gatherer. The secretary of state may consider and tabulate any signature not certified by the county official that is certified by a notary public of the county in which the signer resides to be the genuine signature of an elector legally qualified to sign the petition.

2. (2) The official certificate of the notary public for any signature not certified as valid by the county official must be in substantially the following form:

   State of Montana)

   )ss.

   County of__________)

   I, __________ (name), a qualified and acting notary public in and for the above-named county and state, certify that I am personally acquainted with all of the following-named electors whose signatures are affixed to the attached (petition) (copy of a petition) and I know that they are registered electors of the state of Montana and of the county or legislative district written after their names in the petition and that their post-office addresses are correctly stated in the petition.

   (Names of electors)

   In testimony whereof, I have set my hand and official seal this____ day of_________, 20__.

   _________________________________ (Signature)

   Seal_____________________________ (Notarial information)

History: En. 37-124 by Sec. 10, Ch. 342, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 37-124; amd. Sec. 212, Ch. 571, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 22, Ch. 51, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 323, L. 2003.